GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (Theatrical Release USA 2019)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.6|5.0 Starsììì

Godzilla: King of the Monsters—violent conclusion—could be scary for children and a little on edge for some adults. This movie does not add anything to the Godzilla movies except the addition of more monsters to fight and more violence (which is mostly palatable). The animation of the monsters is great. The special effects are great. While the concept is good, something went amiss from the concept to the screen so that a check is needed in realism portrayal. The simple story still has ability to keep adult fans of the Godzilla series slightly interested despite the fact that presentation quality is less than could be expected. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

Godzilla battles several different monsters who are troubling earth. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Michael Dougherty for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, and Brian Rogers for making the film possible. Casting includes: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, and Ken Watanabe. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Maybe. It’s a typical Godzilla movie that doesn’t re-invent the wheel…it just throws more monsters into the story. The audience needs to be terrific fans of Godzilla stories to engage this movie. For that audience, to be fair, it has more of the ‘scary’ factor than other Godzilla movies. 

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers

THE CALL OF THE WILD (Theatrical Release USA 2020)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.4|5.0 Starsìììì 

The Call of the Wild—better than the 1972 Charlton Heston interpretation—uses animated animals as did Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings. Especially note the animal, Buck, for exceptionally life-like animation except he seems more human-like and above the intelligence level of real dogs. This also seems to have affected the acting relationship between the dog and Harrison Ford at certain junctions in the movie. This is not considerably noticeable so that the story becomes affected. This is a good watch and quite entertaining. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

The story focus is about a dog, lost to its owner, who is taken to Alaska to act as a sled dog for mail delivery. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Chris Sanders for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Erwin Stoff and James Mangold for making the film possible. Cast includes: Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Whitford. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. This movie bases itself on the classic novel of the same name written by Jack London. It’s one of the better renditions of this story. 

Video Critique Available Here: 

Ben Meyers